today, the federal government is reopened. most students in the area are back to class. the numbers onandy's destruction remain staggering. the storm is to blame for 55 deaths nationwide. power outages stand at 55 homes and businesses down from 8.5 million. sandy is shaping up to be one of the costliest disasters in the u.s. it's estimated to cost between $20 billion and $50 billion in damage. >>> the worst may not be over for some flood prone neighborhoods in the area. the river has gone down somewhat. news 4s melissa mollet is live. what is it looking like out there now? >> reporter: good morning, barbara. high tide came and went at 10:06. take a look at this, completely dry here. we have a couple patches of water. nothing like what we were dealing with yesterday. let's take a look at that. 24 hours ago, you can see what a big difference it is. yesterday, i was standing in six or seven inches of water. today, standing on the ground, this road technically opened, but not much traffic. still, restaurants, bunesses, homeowners in the area bracing for potential problems to